A strain-based procedure to estimate strength softening in saturated clays during earthquakes

Cyclic softening and strength loss of saturated clays during earthquakes is often an important consideration in engineering problems such as slope stability, dam/levee safety, and foundation bearing capacity. This study proposes a simplified procedure for evaluating cyclic softening (amount of strength loss) that may be expected in saturated clays during earthquakes and illustrates how to implement it in engineering analysis. The procedure has two main steps: (1) estimation of an equivalent cyclic shear strain amplitude and associated number of cycles induced in the soil mass by an earthquake; and (2) estimation of softening and strength loss in the soil mass. A key aspect of the proposed procedure is adoption of a strain-based approach to estimate cyclic softening as opposed to the widely used stress-based approach of liquefaction assessments. A threshold strain concept originating from the strain-based approach is first discussed and the development of a procedure is presented subsequently. The proposed procedure provides reasonable, first-order estimates of cyclic softening consistent with the other developed procedures. In addition, the capability of the procedure is demonstrated with two case histories identified as involving cyclic softening of clays. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.